Ok, well I started this hoping to spur an educated discussion regarding this topic but nobody (outside of rick/mary) seems willing to put forth an opinion. I know this has been discussed before but it was several years ago.

The question is: Do you think the organizers should REQUIRE sailors to be tethered to the boat in races like the W1k and the T500? This is NOT chicken lines like most of us use, this is a straight up tether like the offshore boats use.

I for one, having been there would NOT want to be tethered to the boat. I was almost separated while rounding Cape Hatteras b/c my "skippers" route of egress involved jumping on my back like a monkey. This forced me underwater and under the "down" hull. Had I been tethered I would not have almost gotten separated but I know I would have untethered myself as I would have been being dragged along by the boat.

Additionally, I can see the tether getting in the way, tangled and causing me to not be able to take my preferred, most efficient or NECESSARY route around the boat during maneuvers. This could cause problems that might cause you to flip. Given the fact that we are going to be required to use traps with detachable hooks it's obvious that US Sailing and other governing bodies see entrapment as a real danger and anything that might cause that should be avoided.

Scenario: Spinnaker up, single trapped, big waves (6'+). Crew is trapped aft of the skipper. Surf down a wave, skipper fails to negotiate properly and stuff the bows hard. Your tether point is a central location in the middle of the tramp for use on both sides. You've just been launched forward and the boat flips. Where do you end up? Say you flip on your side, now your tether starts in the center of the boat but you've gone around the shroud and since the tether is a fixed length you're hanging by your tether from the shroud.

Or go more violent: I envision flying forward during a FAST pitch pole. tether pulls tight, boat goes over but instead of being free, your swung back into the boat by your momentum. Or you end up hanging between the hulls with the boat on it's side.

Or a situation like what happened to Chris Sawyer. clocking 23-25 mph with the kite up, trap loop breaks, you fall in and you get drug. What if the boat does not flip? I've drug behind mono's sailing before for fun. It does NOT take much speed for dragging to go from fun to dangerous. People will say, "but we'll use quick disconnects..." Try reaching your hands underwater while being drug at 5kts, let alone more. PDF or not, you're screwed if you can't get free.

I've been in both these scenarios and:
#1 I'll never sail with a skipper that I don't trust in a distance race again.
#2 I will and do use chicken lines that will release
#3 I won't tether. I think I'd rather float than fight to keep breathing. Several teams used rhino's for safety purposes and I'd rather that than this alternative.

As I sit here I can think of so many scenarios where you could get trapped by a tether....